PCB to ‘confirm’ World Cup 2023 participation in India after obtaining clearance from government

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has said that it will need clearance from the government before confirming its participation in the ICC World Cup 2023 in India. The statement came immediately after the schedule for the ICC event was announced on Tuesday (June 27).

Over the last few days, news reports have claimed that the PCB wanted change in venues for a few World Cup 2023 games. Apparently, they didn’t want the India-Pakistan game to be played at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.

Also, they were keen on the venues for their games against Afghanistan and Australia being swapped. The games will be played in Chennai and Bengaluru respectively, as scheduled, as both the BCCI and ICC are said to have rejected the request.

After the release of the World Cup 2023 schedule, a PCB spokesperson said:

"The PCB requires clearance from the Government of Pakistan for any tour to India, including the match venues. We are in communication with our government to seek guidance, and once we receive a response from them, we will update the Event Authority (ICC).

“This stance aligns with what we communicated to the ICC a couple of weeks ago when they shared the draft schedule with us and sought our feedback,” the statement added.

According to reports, the ICC and the BCCI are confident that Pakistan will travel to India for World Cup 2023. Meanwhile, the ICC has confirmed that if India qualify for the semifinals, the knockout game will be in Mumbai. However, if the opposition is Pakistan, the match will be moved to Kolkata.

Before the schedule for the World Cup, the PCB and the BCCI were engaged in a deadlock over the Asia Cup as well, as India refused to travel to Pakistan for the tournament.

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Eventually, the Asian Cricket Council, headed by BCCI secretary Jay Shah, confirmed that the Asia Cup will be played in a hybrid model in Pakistan (four games) and Sri Lanka (nine games).

Pakistan’s World Cup 2023 schedule

Pakistan will begin their World Cup 2023 campaign with a game against Qualifier 1 in Hyderabad.

They will take on arch-rivals India in Ahmedabad on October 15 and Australia in Bengaluru on October 20. Their last league game will be against England in Kolkata on November 12.

Match 2: October 6 - Pakistan vs Qualifier 1, Hyderabad, 2.00 pm IST

Match 9: October 12 - Pakistan vs Qualifier 2, Hyderabad, 2.00 pm IST

Match 13: October 15 - India vs Pakistan, Ahmedabad, 2.00 pm IST

Match 18: October 20 - Australia vs Pakistan, Bengaluru, 2.00 pm IST

Match 22: October 23 - Pakistan vs Afghanistan, Chennai, 2.00 pm IST

Match 26: October 27 - Pakistan vs South Africa, Chennai, 2.00 pm IST

Match 31: October 31 - Pakistan vs Bangladesh, Kolkata, 2.00 pm IST

Pakistan's World Cup 2023 schedule:

Oct 6 - vs Qualifier in Hyderabad
Oct 12 - vs Qualifier in Hyderabad
Oct 15 - vs India in Ahmedabad
Oct 20 - vs Australia in Bengaluru
Oct 23 - vs Afghanistan in Chennai
Oct 27 - vs South Africa in Chennai
Oct 31 - vs Bangladesh in Kolkata
Nov… twitter.com/i/web/status/1… https://t.co/4YdEGOs7tZ

Match 36: November 4 - New Zealand vs Pakistan, Bengaluru, 10.30 am IST

Match 44: November 12 - England vs Pakistan, Kolkata, 2.00 pm IST